Jomo Kenyatta, first Prime Minister and President of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta [joh' moh kehn yah' tah] first Prime Minister and President of Kenya Kamau wa Ngengi was born about 1890 in the village of Ichaweri, Gatundu, in British East Africa, a member of the Kikuyu tribe. He was educated at the Church of Scotland Mission at Kikuyu, and baptized in 1914 with the name John Peter (which he later changed to Johnstone Kamau). During the First World War he lived with Maasai relatives in Nairobi, where he worked as a government clerk. Overseas Work and Study In 1922, while still living in Nairobi, Kamau joined the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), a political protest movement. By 1928, as secretary of the association, he was chief advocate for Kikuyu land rights. In 1929 the KCA sent him to London to lobby for their views; he also wrote articles to British newspapers about the matter.

After a brief return to Kenya, he enrolled at Woodbrooke Quaker College in Birmingham, England, in 1931. From 1931 to 1946 he worked and studied in Western Europe and Moscow. By 1938 he had adopted the name Jomo Kenyatta (Burning Spear Beaded Belt), and it was under this name that he published Facing Mount Kenya, his thesis for the London School of Economics. During this period he continued to lobby on behalf of Kikuyu land rights. During World War II , Kenyatta worked at a British farm in Sussex to avoid conscription into the British Army. He also lectured on Africa for the Workman's Education Association. Return to Africa On returning to Africa in 1946, Kenyatta became a principal of Kenya Teachers College. In 1947 he was elected president of the newly-founded Kenya African Union (later Kenya African National Union, or KANU).

In 1952, Kenyatta was charged with leading the Mau Mau Rebellion against the British and, despite his denials, was sentenced to seven years in prison, after which he spent two more years in exile in a remote part of Kenya. Leadership of Kenya On May 14, 1960, Kenyatta was elected president of KANU, even though he was still in exile. The state of emergency in Kenya was lifted in December 1960, and Kenyatta was finally fully released on August 21, 1961. In 1962 he was admitted into the Legislative Council, where he played a crucial role in the creation of a new constitution. Kenyatta became Prime Minister of the autonomous Kenyan government on June 1, 1963, and retained the position after independence was declared on December 12, 1963. Kenya became a republic on December 12, 1964, and Kenyatta became its first President. He was re-elected in 1966, 1969, and 1974.

Despite having helped gain Kenya's independence from Great Britain , Kenyatta sought to maintain good relations with that country, even encouraging white residents to remain in Kenya and allowing many colonial-era civil servants to keep their jobs. He asked for, and received, British help against Somali rebels in the northeast, and against an army mutiny in Nairobi. Kenyatta is credited with making Kenya one of the most politically stable nations in Africa. His period in Kenyan history is also known as one of economic progress as well as agricultural, industrial and educational advances. President Jomo Kenyatta died in Mombasa on August 22, 1978, and was buried in Nairobi on August 31. Wives and Children Jomo Kenyatta - Biography - IMDb Jomo Kenyatta Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (2) | Spouse (4) Overview (3) Kamau wa Ngengi Mini Bio (2) First president of Kenya (1964 - 78). Founder of various pan-African nationalist movements.

He was imprisoned by the British colonial powers following the Mau Mau uprising (see films such as Simba (1955), 0049706 or Something of Value (1957) in 1952 and was exiled in 1959. He was released from prison in 1961 and was elected to the Legislative Council in 1962. He tried to unite the African parties but failed and accepted the leadership of KANU. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Crook <steve@brainstorm.co.uk> Jomo Kenyatta was born in Ngenda, Kenya in 1891. A member of the Kikuyu tribe, he was named Kamau wa Ngengi and later christened Johnstone Kamau by Scottish missionaries. He adopted the name of Jomo Kenyatta in the 1920's taking his first named from the Kikuyu word for "burning spear" and his last name from the beared belt that he often wore. Kenyatta became active in Keynan politics in the early 1920's as a member of the nationalist Kikuyu Centrant Association.

By the end of the 1920's be became the nation's most infulential spokesman for freedom from colonial rule against Great Britian. Sent to England and Europe to study and garner support for his cause, he spend most of the 1930's at universities in England and the USSR. Although he remained in the UK during World War II, he kept in close contact with his followers back home. In 1946, Kenyatta returned to Kenya and was elected chairman of the Kenya African Union, the successor to the banned Kikuyu Association. Shortly after Kenyatta's return, a violent nationalist organization, the Mau Mau, was formed to oppose British rule. Aiming at various tribes that supported the British, the Mau Mau killed thousands of Kenyans between 1948 and 1952 which then erupted into full-scale civil war in 1953. Although Kenyatta always denied any connection with the Mau Mau he was the unchallenged leader of the Kenya's nationalist movement and it seems improbable that he did not have some link to the Mau Mau with a large Kikuyu organization.

Kenyatta was arrested by the British on October 20, 1952 on charges that he was inciting the insurrection and was jailed for nine years. After Kenyatta was released from prison in August 1961 he continued his work for national independence which was finally granted on December 11, 1963 which made him a natonal hero. He became prime minister and then president of Kenya and dedicated the remainder of his life to helping Kenya build itself up from the long and destructive independence movement. The aged Kenyatta died in office in Nairobi on August 22, 1978. Cache Numismatics - All Things Numismatic Date: A.D. 1969 Obverse: Portrait head left - THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF KENYA - MZEE JOMO KENYATA Reverse: Shield and crossed speers with lions to each side - REPUBLIC OF KENYA 50 CENTS 1969 Jomo Kenyatta was born in or around 1889. He was born a member of the Kikuyu tribe in what was then british controlled East Africa.

He was given the first of many names he would use in his long life, Kamau wa Ngengi. As a child he assisted his grandfather who was a tribal medicine man and attended classes at a Scottish Mission at Thogoto, west of Nairobi. In 1914 He converted to Christianity and took the name John Peter. By the first world war he was working as a clerk and living with relatives among the Maasai under the name Johnston Kamau. In 1920 he married his first wife, Grace Wahu, who bore him a son, Peter Muigai, and a daughter, Margaret Wambui. He took a position in the Nairobi city council water department in 1921, a position he would hold for five years. He began his political career in 1925 as one of the leaders of the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA). In 1928 he was chosen to appear before the Hilton Young Commission in Nairobi to represent the Kikuyu people as an advocate in their land disputes. It was also in this year that he became the editor of 'Muigwithania', a newspaper dedicated to Kikuyu issues.

The KCA sent him to England in 1929 to lobby on behalf of the Kikuyu and their land disputes. While there he wrote articles for British newspapers concerning these issues, the next year he took time to tour some of Europe and Russia. After returning to Africa briefly, he departed for England again to present a written petition to parliament and give a deposition to the Morris Carter Land Commission. He attended Woodbrooke Quaker College in Birmingham for a time before traveling to Moscow where he briefly studied economics. Returning to Britain he attended the University of London where he studied economics and anthropology. By 1938 he had completed his First book about Kikuyu customs entitled 'Facing Mount Kenya' which was published under his new and final name, Jomo Kenyatta. Jomo means "burning spear" and Kenyatta refers to the beaded belt, or kinyata, that he always wore. During World War II Kenyatta worked on a farm in Britain and married his second wife, Edna Clarke, who bore him a son, Peter Magana, in 1942.

He continued his work as an advocate for his people and Africa in general joining with other African leaders to take part in the 5th Pan African Congress held at Manchester in 1945 where they demanded full independence for Africa. He returned to Africa in 1946 where he married his third wife, Grace Wanjiku. He served as the principal of the Kenya Teachers College and founded the Pan-African Federation along with Kwame Nkrumah who would become the first prime minister of Ghana. In 1947 he became the president of the Kenya African Union (KAU), a political party that sought to unify Kenyaï¿½s tribes. While urging his followers to act with discipline and restraint, he fought for African voting rights, the elimination of racial discrimination and the return of tribal lands. Grace Wanjiku died in 1950 giving birth to his daughter, Jane Wambui. In 1951 he married his forth and last wife, the popular Ngina Muhoho (commonly referred to as Mama Muhoho).

In 1952 he was arrested for being involved in the Mau Mau Uprising, a revolt by mostly Kikuyu people who rose in armed rebellion against long simmering political, economic and racial tensions that festered under colonial rule. A state of emergency was declared and Kenyatta was indicted on the charges of "managing and being a member" of the Mau Mau Society. He was tried and sentenced to 7 years in prison with hard labor and to indefinite restrictions thereafter. Nine years after his arrest, he was freed from all restrictions. Whether he was in fact a leader of the Mau Mau Rebellion is still a matter of debate but it cannot be denied that they echoed much of his own beliefs and fought for similar goals. Without doubt the revolution caused a permanent rift and was the first real step towards independence. Kenyatta's arrest and imprisonment as a leader of this rebellion made him a martyr for the cause. He was released in 1961 and reentered society as a hero, he was voted President of the Kenya African National Union and a month later he headed a KANU delegation to London to advocate Kenyan independence.

In elections held in May 1963, KANU won 83 seats out of 124, and on June 1, 1963, Kenyatta became the first Prime Minister of a self-governing Kenya. On December 12, 1964, Kenya officially became a Republic within the Commonwealth with Kenyatta as its first President. Around this time, many people began referring to him as 'Mzee' (Swahili for Elder). Kenyatta's major stated goals were unity, economic prosperity, and restitution. Looking to bring about reconciliation between tribes, and between tribal natives and white settlers, he assured white and Asian immigrants they would still be welcome in the new nation. Europeans continued to serve in his government and he sought to kept a favorable relationship with former colonial masters. Britain aided the new nation with money and support in the form of troops which remained in the country and helped the fledgling government against Somali rebels (Shiftas) in the northeast, an army mutiny in Nairobi in 1964, and a subsequent mutiny in 1971.

Contrary to this, his major support was the tribal African native population, the Majority Kikuyu specifically, and they were his main concern. He initiated long over due land reform that called for a fair redistribution of lands, a life long goal of his fulfilled. He opened up trade with neighboring nations, pursued a pro-west, anti-communist policy, and oversaw Kenya's admission into the United Nations. Kenya enjoyed political stability under much of his administration which attracted foreign investments and led to economic progress as well as agricultural, industrial and educational initiatives. Highly intelligent and charismatic, he became one of the most influential political figures in Africa, one of the earliest and best-known African nationalist leaders. His tenure was not without its critics who would claim his 15 year administration was far from benevolent. Those critics argue that his land reforms left the president as the largest land owner in his nation with large parcels of land being given to his relatives and friends, referred to by some as the "Kiambu Mafia." Although in general he took a pro-west stance in foreign policy and business, he was a fierce proponent for native tribal Africans and the preservation of native African culture in his internal policy.

He discouraged the use of English saying: "The basis of any independent government is a national language, and we can no longer continue aping our former colonizers ... those who feel they cannot do without English can as well pack up and go." To appeal to his native supporters, he took the egregious step taken by the dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin, and expelled all Asian immigrants from his country. Regarding his former colonial masters he is quoted as saying "When the Missionaries arrived, the Africans had the Land and the Missionaries had the Bible. They taught how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible." His authoritarian policies drew criticism. He exercised almost complete control over the workings of government and did not tolerate dissent. Upon his re-election in 1966 he changed the constitution to extend his already far reaching executive powers. He outlawed most opposition parties in 1969 establishing KANU as the only viable political party, essentially making Kenya a one-party state. He ran unopposed and was re-elected in 1974. He died in office on August 22 1978 in Mombassa at the age of 89.

He is remembered by many as "Baba Wa Taifa" (Father of the Nation), a unifier, one of the greatest figures in African history, his tenure a Kenyan golden age. Others see him as a totalitarian dictator whose policies, in the end, caused instability and far reaching negative consequences. He was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi. His son Peter Muigai Kenyatta later became a deputy minister and his son Uhuru Kenyatta is currently an opposition leader. Jomo Kenyatta was a prolific writer authoring five books: Facing Mount Kenya (1938) , My people of Kikuyu and the life of Chief Wangombe (1944), Suffering Without Bitterness (biography 1968), Kenya: The land of conflict (1971), and The challenge of Uhuru (1971) Jomo Kenyatta with Thurgood Marshall who helped draft the First Constitution of a newly independant Kenya.

copyright © 2014 cache • all rights reserved Jomo Kenyatta - Los Angeles Sentinel | Los Angeles Sentinel | African-American News By Yussuf Simmonds (Managing Editor) Published May 22, 2008 Jomo Kenyatta Looking at a map of Africa early in the 20th century, one gets the feeling that he is looking at the “states of Europe.” With exception of Liberia (founded by ex-slaves from United States, who declared its independence in 1847), the entire continent was one large European smorgasbord. That is the world that greeted Jomo Kenyatta when he arrived into the world in 1889/1894 (the year is uncertain) in the village of Ngenda, in the Gatundu Division of Kiambu (formerly British East Africa). At the turn of the 21st century, Africa’s population was approximately 732,000,000, and Kenya, about 20,000,000.

Born Kamau wa Ngengi into the Kikuyu tribe, Kenyatta lost his parents (Muigai and Wambui) early in life, and was brought up by his uncle, Ngengi, and his grandfather, Kungu wa Magana. His early education came via the Church of Scotland missionaries at Thogoto, about 12 miles northwest of present-day Nairobi, where he converted to Christianity and later changed his name to Johnstone Kamau—blending part of his original name with his newly-adopted “Christian” name. He took the name “Kenyatta” after the bead-strung leather strips he often wore as a belt. Around World War I, Kenyatta moved to Narok, west of Nairobi to live with his relatives who were members of the Masai tribe and there he also worked as a clerk. After marrying Grace Wahu in 1922, he became involved in the political activities of the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), one of the early African protest movements. At the same time Kenyatta worked for the Nairobi Water Department and his first son Peter Muigai (named after his father) was born.

He quickly rose within the KCA ranks and became the editor of its newspaper, “Muigwithania” (Reconciler). In 1929, Kenyatta went to London, as a representative of KCA, to present his people’s demands for the return of tribal lands that were usurped by the Europeans and for greater autonomy (political and economical) in Kenya affairs. He had little success. Disappointed yet undaunted, he returned to Kenya deciding to become involved in education. He began working for Kikuyu Independent Schools in Githunguri until 1931, when he returned to London. Kenyatta enrolled in Woodbrooke Quaker College in Birmingham and for the next 15 years, he attended several universities, traveled extensively and published numerous articles, and pamphlets on the plight of life in Kenya under British rule. In 1938, Kenyatta published his first book, “Facing Mount Kenya” describing how colonialism disrupted Kikuyu traditions and the consequential indignities that followed the indigenous people.

During this period, Kenyatta, at various times, met many future leaders whose common interests were eradicating colonialism (white supremacy) in their respective homelands including Kwame Nkrumah, George Padmore, C.L.R. James, Eric Williams, Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois and Ralph Bunche. In one of Robeson’s movies, “Sanders of the River,” he was an extra and along with Nkrumah, he helped organize one of the Pan-African Congresses in Britain in 1945. Kenyatta worked at a farm in Britain during World War II to avoid being inducted into the British army. He also married an English woman, Edna Clarke, who, in 1943, bore him a son, Peter Magana (named after his grandfather). Before he returned to Kenya in 1946, Kenyatta and Nkrumah founded the Pan-African Federation which continued the anti-colonial movement after they left Britain. Back in Kenya, he married Grace Wanjiku, his third marriage and became the principal of Kenya Teachers College.

In 1947, Kenyatta became president of the Kenya African Union (KAU), the first colony-wide African political organization. In 1950, Wanjiku died in childbirth while giving birth to his daughter, Jane Wambui (named after his mother). The following year, Kenyatta married Ngina Muhoho. Kenyatta’s activities within the KAU escalated and aroused concern among the British administration. His efforts focused on resistance to colonial policies and to win self-government for Kenya under (Black) African leadership. The British responded brutally and the Kenyans took on a more militant tone that was labeled extremist by the British, led by a guerilla group called the Mau-Mau. Though Kenyatta reportedly never advocated violence to achieve political goals, he was identified with the Mau-Mau. In one of his speeches at the KAU meeting at Nyeri, Kenyatta exhorted Kenyans to stand up, fight and demand equality. He said, “We are here under the KAU flag to find which road leads us from darkness to democracy. In order to find it, we Africans must first achieve the right to elect our own representatives. That is surely the first principle of democracy.

We are the only race in Kenya which does not elect its own representatives in the legislature and we are going to set about to rectify this situation.” As a result of his speeches and reported links to the Mau-Mau, Kenyatta, along with five members of the group, was arrested and charged in 1952. After a five-month trial they were all convicted and sent to prison in 1953, and the KAU was outlawed. With the removal of the leaders of the so-called extreme faction, the British continued their “business as usual” never intending to implement any of the reforms sought by the Kenyans. While Kenyatta was in prison, the movement towards independence continued. Research has shown that though he was not directly connected to the Mau-Mau, his political rise after imprisonment was a direct result of the Mau-Mau activities. And historically, his name has been closely aligned with the Mau-Mau. When Kenyatta was released in 1961, after spending almost nine years in prison, Kenya was on track towards self-government.

He was hailed as the country’s independence leader and assumed the leadership of the Kenya African National Union (KANU), a political party which was formed while he was in prison. In 1963, Kenyatta led the party to an electoral victory and became prime minister of an independent Kenya, the 34th African nation to gain its independence. In December the following year, Kenya became a republic and Kenyatta was elected as its first president. As president, Kenyatta worked to foster harmonious relations despite his country’s colonial past. He adopted “Harambee” as a slogan (Swahili for “Let’s all pull together”), encouraged foreign investment and capitalist economic policies. There was some discomfort with his pro-Western policies, especially since the brutality of West (British) was gone but not forgotten, and there were still lingering remembrances such as the British Commonwealth that Kenya was a part of, and the Queen of England was its head. The post-independence years were spent on restructuring and rebuilding the nation with an African vision. Kenyatta’s model was for a strong central government; others differ. His balancing act was to control differences and disagreements within the bounds of civil discord and not become violently disagreeable.

There were no serious challenges to his leadership. Advancing age slowed the aging Kenyatta and by 1970, he turned over the day-to-day management of the country to his deputy. Though this action was brought about by physical necessity, it also resulted in a gradual isolation and his critics seized the opportunity to rebel against Kenyatta’s rule. He died in office in 1978 and was succeeded by the vice president, Daniel Arap Moi. Kenyatta served as one of the guiding lights of the so-called Dark Continent. He left a body of knowledge in several books that he wrote including, “My People of Kikuyu and the Life of Chief Wangombe” (1944); “Kenya: the Land of Conflict” (1944);”The Myth of Mau-Mau: Nationalsim in Kenya” (1966) and “Suffering Without Bitterness” (1968).

(Mukoma Wa Ngugi, a Kenyan scholar recently wrote, “Because recent authoritarian governments suppressed Mau-Mau history and threatened survivors with arrest if they tried to organize, the Mau-Mau movement was not legally recognized in Kenya until 2003.” History shows that there is a certain similarity between KAU and the ANC [African National Congress] and how Kenyatta, Nelson Mandela and many African leaders were imprisoned and the organizations outlawed because they were demanding freedom from colonialism and oppression. A recent magazine article reported that the U.S. State Department still has former President Mandela on its terrorist watch list). “Legends” is the brainchild of Danny J. Bakewell Sr., executive publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel. Every week it will highlight the accomplishments of African Americans and Africans. See More Kenyatta was born Kamau wa Ngengi in the village of Ngenda, Gatundu, in British East Africa (now Kenya), a member of Kik...uyu people. After the death of his parents, his uncle Ngengi and his medicine man grandfather Kũngũ wa Magana took over his upbringing; he became particularly close to Kũngũ .

He went to school in the Church of Scotland Mission at Thogoto, close to Kikuyu Town, about 12 miles north-west of Nairobi. Under the influence of the CSM missionaries, led by Revd Dr John Arthur he was converted to Christianity in 1914 with the name John Peter, which he later changed to Johnstone Kamau. He moved to Nairobi. During the First World War he lived with Maasai relatives in Narok and worked as a clerk. In 1920 he married Grace Wahu and worked in the Nairobi City Council water department. His son Peter Muigai was born on November 20. Jomo Kenyatta entered politics in 1924 when he joined the Kikuyu Central Association. In 1928 he worked on Kĩkũyũ land problems before the Hilton Young Commission in Nairobi. In 1928 he began to edit the newspaper Muigwithania (Reconciler). In 1929 the KCA sent Kenyatta to London to lobby for their views on Kikuyu tribal land affairs. He wrote articles to British newspapers about the matter.

He returned to Kenya in 1930 in the midst of much debate over female circumcision. In 1931 he went back to London and enrolled in Woodbrooke Quaker College in Birmingham. In 1932–1933 he briefly studied economics in Moscow at the Comintern school, KUTVU (University of the Toilers of the East) before his sponsor, the Trinidadian Communist George Padmore, fell out with his Soviet hosts, and he was forced to move back to London. In 1934 he enrolled at University College London and from 1935 studied social anthropology under Bronislaw Malinowski at the London School of Economics. During all this time he lobbied on Kikuyu land affairs. He published his revised LSE thesis as Facing Mount Kenya in 1938 under his new name Jomo Kenyatta. During this period he also was an active member of a group of African, Caribbean and American intellectuals that included at various times C.L.R. James, Eric Williams, W.A. Wallace Johnson, Paul Robeson, and Ralph Bunche.

He also was an extra in the film Sanders of the River (1934), directed by Alexander Korda and starring Paul Robeson. During World War II he labored at a British farm in Sussex to avoid conscription into the British army, and also lectured on Africa for the Workers' Educational Association. He married Englishwoman Edna Clarke who gave birth to his son Peter Magana in 1943. He later left her to return to Kenya in 1946. See more Jomo Kenyatta facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Jomo Kenyatta Sources On December 12, 1963, the flag of independent Kenya billowed over the capital city of Nairobi for the first time. Flanked by thousands of other Kenyans, Jomo Kenyatta watched the unfolding of a 50-year-old dream that had sent him overseas to Europe , landed him in jail, and earned him the hushed admiration of his fellow-Kikuyu tribesmen. An astute politician known to his people as “Mzee,” or “The Wise Elder,” Kenyatta became the country’s first president in 1964.

History remembers him as a brilliant communicator who stressed the importance of black African rule in Kenya and conveyed his message with stunning effectiveness to both his supporters and his opponents. Jomo Kenyatta never knew the exact year of his birth—only that he was born sometime in the 1890s into a tribe that had always counted people’s ages according to their initiation groups. This custom, part of a long tradition, had kept the group members loyal to each other even after the burgeoning Kikuyu population expanded into new territory during the nineteenth century. However, unchanging tradition could not barricade the people against outside events; it was powerless against both the drought of 1889-1890 and the evils of smallpox and cattle disease that sent Kikuyu fleeing back to their ancestral stronghold in the fertile highlands around Mount Kenya. On their homecoming, they met yet another disaster: foreigners had claimed their vacant land after Kenya became the British East Africa Protectorate in 1895. Furthermore, these foreigners could support their claims with 99-year Crown leases that virtually turned the Kikuyu into squatters on their own land, tolerated only as a source of cheap labor.

By 1902 Kikuyu lands were divided again, this time by the Uganda Railway built by the British to connect the Kenyan port of Mombasa with Lake Victoria. The railroad shattered tribal isolation forever, enticing the people into the new era with trading posts and introducing them to European missionaries bearing the messages of Christianity and education for their children. The future president of Kenya enrolled in a Scottish-run mission school in Kenya’s Central province around the year 1909. Naked except for three wire bracelets plus a strip of cloth around his neck, he is said to have given his name as Kamau wa Ngengi. There was little about him to hint at his future role as Jomo Kenyatta: he abandoned academic life for a carpentry apprenticeship in 1912, though he stayed at the mission long enough to undergo both the traditional Kikuyu initiation into manhood and entry into Christianity, taking the At a Glance… Born Kamau wa Ngengi, c.

October 20, 1891 (birth date is uncertain; some sources say 1890, 1893, or 1897), in Ngenda, Kiambu District, British East Africa Protectorate (now Kenya); took the name Johnstone Kamau, 1914; later known as Jomo Kenyatta; died August 22, 1978, on Mombasa, Kenya; son of Muigai (a farmer and herdsman) and Wambui; married Grace Wahu, Edna Clarke, Jane (daughter of Chief Koinange), and Ngina (four wives; no divorces, since Kikuyu society was polygamous); children: eight. Education: Attended University College, London; studied in Moscow , 1932; postgraduate study in anthropology, London School of Economics, 1937. Politics: Conservative Pan-Africanist. Religion: Christian.

Store clerk and water works maintenance employee for Nairobi Municipality, 1921-26; Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), secretary, beginning 1928 (organization banned in May 1940), KCA representative in England intermittently between 1929 and 1945; also worked as a teacher, farm laborer, and lecturer while abroad; co-organizer of 5th Pan-African Congress, 1945; Independent Teachers’ College, Githunguri, Kenya, vice principal, beginning 1946, became principal; president, Kenya African Union (KAU; political party), 1947-52 (also president in absentia, beginning 1944); imprisoned by British Government for alleged role in Mau Mau terrorism, 1953-61; president, Kenya African National Union (KANU; political party), 1960-78 (first year in absentia); Government of Kenya, minister for Internal Security, Defense and Foreign Affairs, 1963-64; prime minister of Kenya, December 12, 1963-December 

12, 1964; president of Kenya, December 12, 1964-August 22, 1978.

Awards: Knight of Grace, Order of St. John of Jerusalem , 1972; LL.D. from University of East Africa; Order of the Golden Ark, bestowed by the World Wildlife Fund, 1974. baptismal name of Johnstone. The end of World War I found Johnstone Kamau settled in Nairobi, attending evening mission classes and working as a water meter reader. Generously paid, he was able to build a hut for his new wife and baby in his native Kiambu district. Johnstone is said to have made his hut big enough to accommodate a small general store, which he called “Kinyata” after the bead-strung leather strips he often wore as a belt. Political Awareness Awakened A social center as well as a place of business, the shop was an ideal place for customers to air grievances over the laws that were instituted after Kenya was declared a British colony in 1920. Several topics came up for discussion.

A 1915 law extending white-held land leases from 99 to 999 years and placing all black-held land under the British Crown was hotly opposed, as was a registration act stating that all black males had to carry a kipande, or document listing their employment history and references. Taken together, these laws increased the squatter problem, especially when combined with a ban on profitable sisal (hemp) and coffee crops for black farmers. The Kikuyu resented this almost as much as they resented the hut tax now payable for each wife, complaining that tax money would be better spent on government-run schools. Discontented rumblings found expression in a rash of government-opposed societies. Kenyatta joined the fledgling Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) in 1925, later becoming secretary. Successful at increasing member support in rural areas, he soon earned himself an official reputation as a troublemaker by helping to shape a petition to the British government, asking, among other things, for permission to grow coffee and for publication of all laws in the Kikuyu language.

By 1929 the KCA had not received a response from local government about either these grievances or the issues of land rights and the hut tax. Disregarding the local authorities’ assurances that they would have no success as an unofficial organization that did not represent all the Kikuyu, the KCA scraped together the funds to send Johnstone to England to consult the Colonial Office. His Mission in England From London, Johnstone wrote to the British Colonial Office frequently. While he waited for a response, he took the opportunity to visit Europe and Russia , despite a shortage of money so acute that his landlord impounded his possessions in lieu of rent. Ignored by the authorities, he returned to Kenya in 1930 but was soon sent back by the KCA to protest a threatened federation of Tanganyika (now Tanzania ), Uganda, and Kenya that would tighten Britain ’s colonial grip. Johnstone ventured back to England eagerly, lingering only to send his wife two bunches of bananas by way of acknowledging the birth of his second baby. Once in England, however, neither frequent letters to the Colonial Office nor impassioned pleas to several parliamentary committees brought any response on the federation question.

Nevertheless, he gained a chance to make himself heard, for the Kikuyu land loss complaint had at last found a British response. In 1932 the government appointed the Carter Commission to walk the precarious claims tightrope teetering between the powerful, wealthy settlers and the impoverished, aggrieved Kikuyu. Sir Morris Carter took statements from Kenyatta and others, then went to Kenya to inspect the lands. Finding that the ancestral territory around Mount Kenya had indeed been cut, he compromised by ruling that the Kikuyu be moved and compensated with less desirable land reclaimed from the thin strip of forest separating them from the Masai tribes. The white settlers were permitted to remain in the fertile area that would henceforth be known as the White Highlands. Having infuriated the Kikuyu by removing them from their ancestral stronghold, the might of the law moved on to the neighboring Wakamba. Outraged by the devastating effects of Carter’s dictums on their cattle-raising tradition, 3,000 Wakamba tribesmen marched to see the governor in Nairobi. Denied entry, they protested by swelling KCA membership rolls, which reached 10,000 by 1938.

These explosive events were faithfully relayed to Johnstone in England. In turn, he publicized the Wakamba and Kikuyu complaints both in lectures given all over England and in articles published in the Manchester Guardian. The Colonial Office, however, refused to acknowledge him, though they had begun to keep a list of all his activities. Meticulously documented were Johnstone’s 1932 visit to Moscow, where he attended an institute for revolutionaries; his job teaching Kikuyu language at London University’s School of African and Oriental Languages; and a bit part he played in a movie called Sanders of the River, which brought him a friendship with the world-renowned singer and activist Paul Robeson. Also noted were details of Johnstone’s association with left-wing intellectuals who introduced him to the possibilities of Kenyan independence and black majority rule. Facing Mount Kenya In 1936, despite the fact that he lacked a college degree, Johnstone went to the London School of Economics to take a postgraduate level class in anthropology from the distinguished Bronislaw Malinowski. Around the same time, he wrote a study of Kikuyu life called Facing Mount Kenya, depicting a complex African society that had developed free from European influence.

To illustrate his pride in the uncorrupted Kikuyu culture, he was photographed for the book’s cover in tribal dress consisting of a borrowed monkey-fur cloak and a spear made from a sharpened plank. He also rejected the missionary-given name of Johnstone, deciding that “Jomo,” meaning “burning spear,” might be more appropriate. By way of a last name, he adopted “Kenyatta,” reminiscent of his little store in Kiambu. His book sold only 517 copies but was well received in academic circles. The outbreak of World War II prevented Kenyatta’s return to Kenya but did not leave his Colonial Office dossier incomplete. The list now included his job as a farm laborer in an English town, his 1942 marriage (Kenyan family notwithstanding) to an Englishwoman named Edna Clarke, and the birth of a son the following year. The record ended in 1946, when he finally returned to Kenya, leaving Edna behind. Returned to Kenya Sixteen years abroad had changed both Kenyatta and his country. Fiftyish, highly educated, and well-traveled, he received an ecstatic welcome from his supporters.

Kenya now had a booming economy, fueled mainly by exports of food to a hungry, wartorn Europe. Wealth, in turn, had brought thousands of settlers streaming from India on the eve of its partition from Britain. By 1948, the white population in Kenya stood at around 30,000, many of whom needed cheap labor to work their growing lands. But Kenyatta’s keen eye saw that the country’s labor force would not be easy to manage. Blacks who had spent the war years in Kenya had learned about free education and territorial security from British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) news bulletins. Those who had gone overseas with the 75,000-strong fighting forces had left the racial discrimination of their colonial-run homeland behind, only to return at war’s end to the usual problems of work documents and confiscated land. With no means of livelihood, these highly trained veterans had drifted into the rapidly swelling new slums of Kenya’s cities, where the crime rate had begun to soar. Kenyatta was dismayed to see the traditional honor of the Kikuyu besmirched by dishonesty and violence.

Despite government restrictions that made meetings difficult to arrange, he harangued his huge audiences with pep talks on the necessities for hard work, fair trade in the cities, and an immediate end to tribal violence. Ideas of Independence Take Root Kenyatta was a staunch opponent of white rule for Africans, and he introduced the idea of independence for his country’s people through the Kenya African Union (KAU). Formed in 1944, the multitribal organization declared him its president in absentia and rallied for racial equality by law, voting privileges for blacks, and the restoration of land ownership rights to native Kenyans. Noting that urban blacks were more comfortable with the move towards independence than their conservative rural counterparts, Kenyatta made a decision that led to disaster: he chose to spur black allegiance with traditional oath-taking. Oaths had always been part of the Kikuyu moral code. Underscoring loyalty to initiation groups, they were also a familiar part of each land sale, proving the seller’s ownership before new boundaries were marked by the stomach contents of a ceremonially-slaughtered ram. But Kikuyu acceptance did not automatically guarantee backing for oaths from tribes unfamiliar with the practice.

Distrustful of the unknown, they withdrew their support. White Kenyans, citing Kenyatta’s enormous following and his familiarity with Communism, demanded that he be followed constantly by the Special Branch Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Kenyatta proceeded to reject oathing as a rural canvassing measure, but not soon enough to stop it from spreading in a perverted and most virulent form. Terror Stalked the Land In 1948 Kenya began to experience a terrorist threat called Mau Mau. Its architects, both Kikuyus, were British army veteran Bildad Kaggia and trade unionist Fred Kubai. Like Kenyatta, they were bent on Kenyan independence; unlike him, they were committed to using any means necessary—no matter how forceful—to achieve it. Determined to force the whites out of Kenya, the men swiftly organized fighting cells in the Kikuyu-held forests girdling Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range of mountains. Mau Mau raiders left behind them trails of strangled dogs and cats, disembowelled cattle with amputated legs, and human victims who had been burned alive or hacked to pieces with machetes.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Mau Mau is believed to have murdered a small number of white settlers and more than 11,000 blacks suspected of collaborating with the white regime. Many political observers agree that Kenyatta knew about Mau Mau. However, he always disclaimed connection with it on the simple grounds that he opposed its brutality. Asked by the British government to denounce Mau Mau in his home district of Kiambu, he gladly did so, thereby bringing Mau Mau assassination threats down on his head. Still, the government banned the KAU in 1952 as a suspected Mau Mau front and then declared a state of national emergency. Imprisoned as Mau Mau Organizer Kenyatta and several Mau Mau committee members were arrested in October of 1952 and tried in a remote little town called Kapenguria.

Found guilty of organizing the terrorist group, Kenyatta spent the following six years in Laukitaung Prison, cooking for the other convicts, reading books on comparative religion sent to him by his daughter, and piecing together news of his home district, where his farm had been destroyed on government orders. Kenyatta completed his prison sentence in April of 1959. Opposition to colonialism in Kenya continued, and the government was reluctant to release him immediately. The turning point came after eleven hardcore Mau Mau supporters were slaughtered in an alleged disciplinary action that embarrassed the British government and caused the resignation of the colonial secretary. The Cell Door Opened The new colonial secretary was Iain MacLeod, a man firmly committed to Kenyan independence and black majority rule. Moving briskly, by mid-1960 MacLeod had encouraged the formation of two political parties: the Kenya African National Union (KANU) was a coalition between the dominant Kikuyu and runner-up Luo tribes, while the Kenya African Democratic Union was made up of smaller tribes fearing Kikuyu domination. Once again in absentia, Kenyatta was nominated the president of KANU.

MacLeod also authorized a press conference for Kenyatta, who had been transferred to another town. Now about 70, Kenyatta appeared before selected journalists fit and alert, and armed with a crisp three-point statement: he declared that he had not been the organizer of Mau Mau; he expressed his belief that black Kenyans must rule their country; and he emphatically denied any Communist connections, assuring the journalists that he had merely been to the former Soviet Union for educational purposes. Kenyatta went back to Kiambu in August of 1961 to a rebuilt farm packed with 10,000 well-wishers. The greeting was a triumphant boost to the beginning of his successful KANU campaign. Kenyan Independence Kenya became Africa’s 34th independent state at the end of 1963. Honored guests at the celebration included Britain’s Prince Philip, actor Sidney Poitier, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Also present were several truckloads of Mau Mau, all of whom had been promised feasts of oxen, jobs, and generous loans for land purchase. (Their euphoria, however, was shortlived.

On learning that the loans would have to be repaid, many of them returned to lives of crime in the forests.) Kenyatta was now the country’s prime minister, and “Harambee!” (“Let us all pull together!”) was the motto of new independence. By December of 1964, Kenyatta had become the first president of Kenya, with business in the one-party state getting off to a brisk and pragmatic start. The new order swept away tribal rivalries in favor of nationalism for the benefit of all Kenyans. Kenyanization became the new economic watchword. A British-financed Land Transfer Program eased government efforts to buy out white farmers so that blacks could purchase their land; reluctant sellers, especially if they were noncitizens, were warned of “severe action” if they refused to comply. As a result, despite the doctrine of forgiveness and nonviolence that had always been Kenyatta’s creed, 5,000 of the 45,000 white farmers in Kenya had already left the country by the time it became a republic at the end of 1964. Still, Kenyanization was progressing more slowly than Kenyatta had expected.

Nearly six dozen American companies, including Union Carbide, Colgate-Palmolive, and Caltex, had established ties with Kenya, but the president was troubled by and determined to curb the considerable economic influence of Asians who gained prominence in Kenya since the days of the Uganda Railway. Cracks in the Facade Anxious to avoid claims of Kikuyu favoritism, Kenyatta had carefully selected his first cabinet from each population group. Nevertheless, cracks in party loyalty began to appear early. Vice President Oginga Odinga, a self-confessed Communist, was later shown to have campaigned for anti-government support among the Mau Mau. Odinga resigned from Kenyatta’s government in 1966 and formed a new party called the Kenya People’s Union, which gained considerable support in the late 1960s. Kenyatta’s aura of invincibility was threatened by the opposition of Odinga and the Kenya People’s Union. He met the challenge with a grim warning later published in Time magazine’s November 7, 1969 issue: “We will crush you into flour.

Anyone who toys with our progress will be crushed like locusts.” His first example was Odinga, who was placed under immediate house arrest. The 1970s: Money and Murder As the 1970s advanced, the Kenyatta ranks split further. Rumors of government-sanctioned corruption abounded, with officials of the Kenyatta regime—and even members of the president’s family—implicated as key players in incidents of poaching, deforestation, ivory exportation, and land grabbing. A courageous and popular politician named Josiah Kariuki began to speak out against the corruption surrounding the aged president. “Kenya does not need ten millionaires and ten million beggars,” he declared in a speech quoted by the London Times in 1975. Soon afterwards, Kariuki was abducted from the Nairobi Hilton, tortured, and murdered, his body lying unclaimed in a mortuary for more than a week before one of his wives identified it. Kenyatta made his position on the murder clear: he warned that further opposition would bring further bloodshed.

When Jomo Kenyatta died in his sleep on August 22, 1978, Vice President Daniel arap Moi, a handpicked successor, assumed smooth control of the government. In spite of the controversy and charges of corruption that surrounded him during his lifetime, Kenyatta remains in death the father of Kenyan independence and a key figure in the struggle to promote black rule and economic autonomy throughout Africa. Facing Mount Kenya: The Tribal Life of the Gikuyu, Secker & Warburg, 1938. My People of Kikuyu and the Life of Chief Wangombe, United Society for Christian Literature, 1942. Harambee! (speeches), Oxford University Press, 1964. The Challenge of Uhuru (speeches), East African Publishing House, 1971. Cox, Richard, Kenyatta’s Country, Hutchinson, 1965. Delf, George, Jomo Kenyatta, Doubleday, 1961. Edgerton, Robert B., Mau Mau: An African Crucible, Free Press, 1989.

Farson, Negley, Last Chance in Africa, Gollancz, 1950. Kenyatta, Jomo, Facing Mount Kenya, Vintage Books, 1965. Lineberry, William P., editor, East Africa: The Reference Shelf, volume 40, number 2, 1968. Murray-Brown, Jeremy, Kenyatta, Dutton, 1973. Nelson, Harold D., editor, Kenya: A Country Study, American University, 1983. Periodicals Nation, August 11, 1969. Newsweek, September 4, 1978.

New York Times, October 29, 1952; June 9, 1953; July 2, 1953; May 13, 1963; December 11, 1963; July 16, 1964; April 3, 1965; April 15, 1966; May 2, 1966; January 11, 1970; February 11, 1970; October 17,1975. Phylon, volume 14, number 4, 1953. Time, June 11, 1965; November 7, 1969; September 4, 1978. Times (London), August 10, 1975; August 17, 1975; August 24, 1975.

—Gillian Wolf BIBLIOGRAPHY Jomo Kenyatta, also known as Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, is considered the founding father of the independent nation of Kenya . He became Kenya’s first prime minister (1963–1964) and first president (1964–1978). Acknowledged as a fascinating and courageous leader, his controversial life began when he was born to Muigai and Wambui as a member of the Kikuyu people. His birth name was Kamau wa Ngengi. His parents died while he was a young boy, and he spent time in his youth working with his grandfather, who was a medicine man steeped in the Kikuyu tradition. Kenyatta married his first wife, Grace Wahu, in 1920. They had two children, a daughter and a son. Kenyatta entered local politics in 1924 when he joined the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA). He created and began to edit a monthly journal for the KCA known as Muigwithania (The Reconciler) in 1928.

Much of the writing in this journal was focused on cultural nationalism, unity, and moral ethnicity for the Kikuyu people. He also focused heavily on campaigning for land reform, ownership rights, and political rights for African people. The KCA sent Kenyatta to London to lobby for Kikuyu rights, and in 1931 he enrolled in Woodbrooke Quaker College in Birmingham, England . He later attended the Comintern School in Moscow , then returned to London to study at the University College London and the London School of Economics (LSE). He focused on social anthropology and economics, and published his LSE thesis in 1938 as his first book, Facing Mount Kenya, an ethnography of the Kikuyu people penned under the name Jomo Kenyatta. He was briefly married to Edna Clarke during this period, and she gave birth to his son in 1943. In England, Kenyatta had many friends and associates, and formed the Pan-African Federation with Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972) in 1946.

He then returned to his homeland and became the principle of Kenya Teacher’s College and president of the Kenya African Union (KAU). Upon his return to Kenya, he married Grace Wanjiku in 1946. She died in childbirth in 1950 after giving birth to a daughter. The following year, he married his fourth wife, Ngina Kenyatta, to whom he would remain married for the rest of his life. They had four children together. On October 20, 1952, Kenyatta was arrested by the British government and charged with being a manager and member of the society of Mau Mau. The Mau Mau revolution was a lengthy battle of the Kikuyu people against British control. Kenyatta denied any participation and countered that he spoke out against the Mau Mau because they were not working with the KAU. After a lengthy trial in 1953, Kenyatta was convicted and imprisoned for six years in Lokitaung, a region in northwestern Kenya. He was later sent into exile. While in exile, he was elected president in absentia of the Kenya African National Union, which later joined with the Kenya African Democratic Union to become one party.

Kenyatta was released by the British government, and returned to government in 1961. He was instrumental in forming a parliamentary body, instituting a new constitution, and creating the republic of Kenya. Kenyatta is heralded as a great leader. He was also a noted author, publishing numerous books and pamphlets, including My People of Kikuyu and the Life of Chief Wangombe (1944), Suffering without Bitterness (1968, a biography), Kenya: The Land of Conflict (1971), and The Challenge of Uhuru: The Progress of Kenya, 1968 to 1970 (1971). He died in his sleep in Mombasa in 1978. SEE ALSO Anticolonial Movements; Kimathi, Dedan; Mau Mau; Nkrumah, Kwame; Pan-African Congresses BIBLIOGRAPHY Berman, Bruce J., and John M. Lonsdale. 1998. The Labors of Muigwithania: Jomo Kenyatta as Author, 1928–45.

Research in African Literatures 29 (1): 16–27. Branch, Daniel, and Nicholas Cheeseman. 2006. The Politics of Control in Kenya: Understanding the Bureaucratic-executive State, 1952–78. Review of African Political Economy 107: 11–31. Kenya: Landslide for Kenyatta. 1963. New Republic 148 (23): 8. Kenyatta, Jomo. 1968. Suffering without Bitterness: The Founding of the Kenya Nation. Nairobi, Kenya: East African Publishing House. Kijua Sanders-McMurtry BBC ON THIS DAY | 22 | 1978: Kenya's founding father dies 1978: Kenya's founding father dies Kenya's president, Jomo Kenyatta, has died at his home in Mombasa. An official announcement on Voice of Kenya radio said Mr Kenyatta died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday morning. Shops and offices in the capital, Nairobi, and other cities have closed for the day as a mark of respect.

In public appearances yesterday, Mr Kenyatta, 89, appeared to be in good health so news of his death has come as a shock to most Kenyans. However, last week he called a family conference in Mombasa leading to speculation about his health. Mr Kenyatta was widely seen as the founding father of his nation which he had led since its independence in 1963. A member of Kenya's largest tribe, the Kikuyu, he was one of the first and best-known African nationalist leaders. We have lost a major figure of our time Shridath Ramphal Baptised Johnstone Kamau, he changed his name to Kenyatta - Swahili for "light of Kenya" in the 1920s. After spending 15 years in London promoting the cause of Kenyan's independence from Britain, he returned to his homeland in 1946. In 1952 he was imprisoned by the British and spent the next nine years in captivity. In spite of his time in prison, Mr Kenyatta was regarded as the most pro-British of African presidents and under his leadership the Kenyan economy prospered.

But he was intolerant of dissent in Kenya and outlawed some opposition parties in 1969. The Queen has sent a message of sympathy to Mr Kenyatta's wife and the Kenyan people. The Commonwealth Secretary General, Shridath Ramphal, said Mr Kenyatta's death had deprived Kenya of a great leader. "We have lost a major figure of our time," Mr Ramphal said. Mr Kenyatta's deputy, Daniel arap Moi, has assumed the office of president for 90 days during which time new elections must be held. Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta | African American Registry Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta Date: Fri, 1893-10-20 On this date in 1893, we celebrate the birth of Jomo Kenyatta. He was an African political leader, and the first president of Kenya. He was from the Kikuyu tribe, and one of the earliest and best-known African nationalist leaders. He became secretary of his tribal association in 1928, campaigning for land reform and African political rights.

In England, he collaborated with other African nationalist students and in 1946, founded with Kwame Nkrumah, the Pan-African Federation. Returning to Kenya, he became president of the Kenya African Union that same year. In 1953, during the Mau Mau uprising, Kenyatta was imprisoned by the British as one of its instigators and sent to internal exile in 1959. Kenyatta was elected president of the newly founded Kenya African National Union while in exile (1960). Released in 1961, he participated in negotiations with the British to write a new constitution for Kenya, which became independent in 1963. An author, he wrote "Facing Mount Kenya" (1938) and "Suffering Without Bitterness" (1968). Kenya became a republic in 1964 with Kenyatta as its first president. Influential throughout Africa, Kenyatta was intolerant of dissent in Kenya. Outlawing some opposition parties in 1969, he established a one-party state in 1974.

The stability resulting from his leadership attracted foreign investment, partly because of his non-aligned foreign policy. He died in office in 1978. Reference: The Encyclopedia Britannica, Fifteenth Edition. Copyright 1996 Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. ISBN 0-85229-633-0 The World Book Encyclopedia. Copyright 1996, World Book, Inc. ISBN 0-7166-0096-X Jomo Kenyatta - Early Days to His Political Awakening Jomo Kenyatta - Early Days to His Political Awakening Part 1: From Early Days to His Political Awakening Jomo Kenyatta Monument, City Square, Nairobi. Mark Daffey / Getty Images By Alistair Boddy-Evans Updated August 21, 2016. First president of Kenya and prominent independence leader. Born into dominant Kikuyu culture, Kenyatta became its most famous interpreter of Kikuyu traditions through his book Facing Mount Kenya.

Date of Birth: Early 1890s1, Gatundu Division, Central Highlands, British East Africa (now Kenya) Date of Death: 22 August 1978 Early Life Jomo Kenyatta was born Kamau to parents Moigoi and Wamboi -- his father was the chief of a small agricultural village in Gatundu Division, Kiambu District - one of five administrative districts in the Central Highlands of British East Africa. Moigoi died when Kamau was very young and he was, as custom dictated, adopted by his uncle Ngengi to become Kamau wa Ngengi. Ngengi also took over the chiefdom and Moigoi's wife Wamboi. When his mother died giving birth to a boy, James Moigoi, Kamau moved to live with his grandfather, Kungu Mangana, who was a noted medicine man2 in the area. Around the age of 10, suffering form a jigger infection, Kamau was taken to the Church of Scotland mission at Thogoto (about 12 miles north of Nairobi), where surgery was successfully carried out on both feet and one leg.

continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know Kamau was impressed by his first exposure to Europeans and determined to join the mission school. He ran away from home to become a resident pupil at the mission, studying amongst other subjects, the Bible, English, mathematics, and carpentry. He paid the school fees by working as a houseboy and cook for a nearby white settler. British East Africa During World War I In 1912, having completed his mission school education, Kamau became an apprentice carpenter. The following year he underwent initiation ceremonies ( including circumcision ) and became a member of the kehiomwere age group. In August of 1914 Kamau was baptized at the Church of Scotland mission, initially taking the name John Peter Kamau, but swiftly changing it to Johnson Kamau. Looking to the future, he departed the mission for Nairobi to seek employment. Initially, he worked as an apprentice carpenter on a sisal farm in Thika, under the tutelage of John Cook, who had been in charge of the building program at Thogoto.

As World War I progressed, able-bodied Kikuyu were forced into work by the British authorities, to avoid this, Kamau moved to Narok, living amongst the Maasai, where he worked as a clerk for an Asian contractor. It was around this time that he took to wearing a traditional beaded belt known as a 'Kenyatta', a Swahili word which means 'light of Kenya'. Marriage and Family In 1919 he met and married his first wife Grace Wahu, according to Kikuyu tradition. When it became apparent that Grace was pregnant, his church elders ordered him to get married before a European magistrate and undertake the appropriate church rites. (The civil ceremony didn't take place until November 1922.) On 20 November 1920 Kamau's first son, Peter Muigai, was born. Amongst other jobs he undertook during this period, Kamau served as an interpreter in the Nairobi High Court and ran a store out of his Dagoretti (an area of Nairobi) home.

Jomo Kenyatta In 1922 Kamau adopted the name Jomo (a Kikuyu name meaning 'burning spear') Kenyatta, and began working for the Nairobi Municipal Council Public Works Department (once again under John Cook who is the Water Superintendent) as a store clerk and water-meter reader. It was also the start of his political career -- the previous year Harry Thuku, a well educated and respected Kikuyu, had formed the East African Association, EAA, to campaign for the return of Kikuyu lands given over to white settlers when the country became the British Crown Colony of Kenya in 1920. Kenyatta joined the EAA in 1922. A Start in Politics In 1925 the EAA disbanded under governmental pressure, but its members came together again as the Kikuyu Central Association, KCA, as formed by James Beauttah and Joseph Kangethe. Kenyatta worked as editor of the KCA's journal between 1924 and 1929, and by 1928 he had become the KCA's general secretary (having given up his job with the municipality to make time).

In May 1928 Kenyatta launched a monthly Kikuyu-language newspaper called Mwigwithania (Kikuyu word meaning 'he who brings together') which was intended to draw all sections of the Kikuyu together. The paper, supported by an Asian-owned printing press, had a mild and unassuming tone, and was tolerated by the British authorities. The Territory's Future in Question Worried about the future of its East African territories, the British government began toying with the idea of forming a union of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika. Whilst this was fully supported by white settlers in the Central Highlands, it would be disastrous to Kikuyu interests -- it was believed that the settlers would be given self-government and that the rights of the Kikuyu would be ignored. In February 1929 Kenyatta was dispatched to London to represent the KCA in discussions with the Colonial Office, but the Secretary of State for the Colonies refused to meet him. Undeterred, Kenyatta wrote several letters to British papers, including The Times.

Kenyatta's letter published in The Times in March 1930 set out five points: The security of land tenure and the demand for land taken by European settlers to be returned Improved educational opportunities for Black Africans The repeal of Hut and poll taxes Representation for Black Africans in the Legislative Council Freedom to pursue traditional customs (such as female genital mutilation) His letter concluded by saying that a failure to satisfy these points "must inevitably result in a dangerous explosion -- the one thing all sane men with to avoid". He returned to Kenya on 24 September 1930, landing at Mombassa. He had failed on his quest for all except one point, the right to develop independent educational institutions for Black Africans. Next > Part 3: From the Mau Mau Rebellion to Presidency Notes 1 Kenyatta maintained he did not remember the year of his birth. Many sources now cite 20 October 1891 as the correct date. 2 Kenyatta refers to his grandfather in his book Facing Mount Kenya as a seer and a magician.

Question: Jomo Kenyatta was born into which tribe?
Answer: Kikuyu